When the Angelus rang
by moonlightseraph
Summary: This is a companion to After Amnesty, from Anna Maria's perspective. It's so hard to write her perspective because you don't want to make her too perfect and unlike the flawed character in the show but neither do you want to make her into a completely self-absorbed villainess.


_**When the Angelus rang**_

 **This is a companion to After Amnesty, from Anna Maria's perspective. It's so hard to write her perspective because you don't want to make her too perfect and unlike the flawed character in the show but neither do you want to make her into a completely self-absorbed villainess.**

Anna Maria wanted to ask Zorro so much more...about looking about herself but the soldiers were coming. He pulled her closer into his arms, so that her head rested on his shoulder and his gloved hand encircled the top of her head. Anna Maria couldn't help smiling; Zorro had stayed so distant from her since her return to Monterrey...this embrace confirmed he did still love her and she wasn't mistaken. He said…"Adios, Anna Maria." So gently, and yet….she got the impression he was saying it as to a child clinging too close to its mother.

He paused a moment, still holding her close. Was this it….the end? "We will meet again," He reassured her with some briskness, and hastily broke away from her. She sighed as he turned away from her and saddled his brilliant white stallion. He gave her a slight wave and rode off, like the wind. Anna Maria was still breathless from the ride, from his words, from the realization he wasn't going to unmask himself and marry her. What was she supposed to be feeling right now?

Luckily, the soldiers turned her head and she found Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes at the front. They halted where she was. "Senorita Verdugo, are you alright?" Sergeant Garcia said. How could she not be safe with her dashing knight in shining armor? "Are you chasing Zorro?" She said, with a playful grin making its way across her lips. Sergeant Garcia looked confused, undoubtedly expected her to be sad and inconsolable. "Si." He said, confused. Anna Maria kept on smiling. "Well, you have a wonderful day for it!" She remarked, waving her arm. Sergeant Garcia was still confused, but he had a job to do. "Lancers, after him!" He bellowed and they took off. Anna Maria waved at her crusader, but he didn't seem to notice her again.

But after the thrill of Zorro and the soldiers passed, she felt rather silly. True, this was on the outskirts of the Verdugo property but still….she had the strange feeling that she would not be seeing Zorro again for a long time. He had made it perfectly clear today, that he did not exist to romance her. She knew that...and yet she had been so callous and thoughtless as to ask if he wished to remain an outlaw! But she had been so certain he loved her….and yet, did she love him?

Anna Maria realized that perhaps she had gotten carried away. Ricardo had laid down the perfect trap for Zorro, that shook her back to reality and made her realize playing games and leading suitors on could not last forever. But she had tried to discourage Ricardo and Diego, to some extent. She had made it obvious her heart belonged to Zorro and they were just friends, brothers even. And yet she played along with their games, and reveled in the attention. She was flattered and pleased….to have captured the eye of two handsome caballeros. But it could not last any longer. After she had refused Ricardo's proposal, she knew that he would not be making a reprisal of it; at least any time soon.

Diego wouldn't be making any proposal. Anna Maria knew he was deeply in love with her, but she had just earlier that day dismissed him as a friend and a brother; confident she would marry El Zorro that evening...so who cared about Diego? Yet now she was a fool, and had lost all three. Anna Maria felt guilty about wishing she hadn't dismissed Diego so completely...now he wouldn't renew his attention to her. They had flirted before she had met Zorro….and while at the time she was just pleased she had caught his eye; now she realized she truly had thrown away someone truly special. And why...did she think of him only when Zorro was out of the picture?

Anna Maria felt terribly fickle. She didn't really love Diego; she was just being vain and wanting his attention even though she wasn't willing to return his love. Why didn't he come to the plaza when the Angelus rang? She wondered what he would've said to comfort her...surely he wouldn't have proposed like Ricardo did after she had told him he was like a brother. Just hours ago she had been certain she would have no further need of Ricardo and Diego because she would be wed to El Zorro and they would live happily ever after. But now she wished she hadn't been so certain; so that being wrong wouldn't hurt so much.

Did she really want to marry a total stranger? What did she even know about him, as Ricardo pointed out time after time? Maybe he did have a wife and children or a different senorita waiting for him in every city. What if she didn't like the man behind the mask? What if it was someone...she did not love? What if all the magic and romance left with the mask? Oh, how could she doubt this! He always had her best intentions at heart, he had promised he would never be far away from her and that they would meet again, and he had swept her off her feet and saved her life several times...and he had kissed her.

She tried to tell herself there were other caballeros to replace the ones she had dismissed, but she couldn't. If she loved El Zorro, she couldn't toy with other men's hearts any longer, could she? But she couldn't just wait around for him to come back? She started walking back to the hacienda, she couldn't think clearly right now. That evening, she couldn't sleep. She went out on her balcony, looking out at the starry sky.

She half-expected Zorro to whisper behind her and unmask himself. But he didn't. She put her hand over her eye, feeling overwhelmed. Where was he right now? Was he thinking about her? Was he hiding as another caballero right now? Look about you...look about you...what did that even mean? He acted like he was right next to her all the time. 'I will find out who you are...El Zorro….and when I do, we will certainly meet again,' Anna Maria resolved. Still no masked hero came to her. She sighed and went back inside.

The next morning, she went on a ride bright and early. No Ricardo or Diego had showed up yet to say goodbye or anything else. She took her hat off, so her hair could flow freely in the gentle summer breeze. She gently prodded her horse to a canter, and stroked his back as he galloped faster and faster. Would Diego or Ricardo stop by today, she couldn't help wondering. She couldn't help hoping they would. When she got back to the hacienda, her mind felt a little freed by the exertion, and there was Diego. He looked a bit weary and out of sorts, not as put together as he usually was. What a funny story she had to tell him about what had happened with Ricardo and his "wife" because Diego was not present! "Diego, where were you yesterday? Ricardo fell into his own trap because you weren't there."

She said brightly, as she held out her hand. She noticed Diego hesitate...and not smile in the slightest about Ricardo. She felt strangely relieved when he did take her hand and kiss it, but noticed he didn't linger at all like he had in the past. She felt oddly disappointed, and looked at him. "I'm sorry for that. I-I had to discuss some business with my father." Just like Diego...to pass up a chance to see Zorro unmask himself to do business with his father! Of course Zorro had not unmasked himself, but Diego had no way of knowing that...he had even told her if he were Zorro, he would certainly want to please her and seemed certain Zorro would come. And surely...El Zorro loved her much more than Diego did, didn't he? Unless...if Diego were Zorro he would have ridden into Monterrey and taken the amnesty to please her!

The thought startled her...was Diego more in love with her than Zorro? Or was it just that Diego wasn't busy saving the whole of California? "I see." Anna Maria said, raising her eyebrow hoping that he would say more or express some interest in what had happened...even though the way news traveled about the Verdugos he certainly would already know!

"We have to return to Los Angeles right away. Goodbye, Anna Maria." Diego said, almost briskly. Why did he have to go so soon? He didn't seem to want to talk to her...he didn't seem reluctant to leave...like he usually did. What was the matter? True, she had discouraged his affection but it was still strange that his affection for her could undergo such a chance in so short a time. She wanted to tell him all about what had happened yesterday, and know his opinion...she did value his opinion very highly...after realizing after the fiasco with the banditos and her father that she had been stupid and blind and should've listened to him.

Yesterday he had reassured her Zorro would come, he had been all ease and good naturedness, and she had been able to talk to him so freely...without fear he would try to discourage her chasing after Zorro like Ricardo did. That's why she said he was a good friend and a brother...she didn't feel like she had guard her thoughts and words around him. He had seen her at her best, and at her worst...when she was falling apart and making bad decisions when her father was kidnapped...he had stayed there through it all, just like the brother she never had would.

Yet he didn't feel like a friend or a brother now...but a stranger. "Have a safe journey, Diego. Vaya con Dios." She said, smiling sadly as she looked at him. She couldn't read his expression...it was so blank, so disguised.

"I hope we meet again soon. And Ricardo too. I treasure our friendship very much."

She said sincerely...she would miss the fun the three had had and the witty, fast paced conversations.

"As do I. Goodbye." She waited for him to say something more...something that sounded like Diego...a laugh, a joke...a tender goodbye. But he didn't. He just gave her a small smile and left. She had wanted to tell him all about what had happened, because he understood her better than anyone else, but her good friend was not himself today.

And she would not see him again for a while...maybe not even until the supplies ship from Spain arrived. But she would write letters to him...and hope he would write back, and someday she would know why he had acted so strangely today. But that wasn't to be revealed today...for today she just had to wonder..about Zorro, about Diego, about if it would've been better to go to Spain than stay in Monterey, about how different things might have been if she had listened to Diego about the kidnappers, and about Ricardo...if she should've discouraged him sooner so it had not come to this point.

But it was too late to change anything. The future was unknown, the past was done, and all Anna Maria had was the present. But she was going to make the best ot it.


End file.
